Saturday, December 9, 2017

My tiny garden!

So this is my current set up. Other than attempting to nurse some discount houseplants, it is unused.

It's a 2'x3'x3' mylar grow tent, probably fancier than I actually need but it's insulating, contains the sound and light, and was on sale. I also have a 300w light which is not turned on in the photo because it emits purple light. Again, probably better than needed, but I did not want to underestimate and have to purchase new lighting. Last time I used cheap bulbs and found them pointless.

My planters are 24"x6" and filled with generic potting soil, coconut coir, and dead, dried out houseplants. They appear to have some sort of moss on them at the moment, so I'm allowing them to dry out. I'm assuming I can three plants in each, nine total, but we'll see how things play out. The tiny planter is an ice cube tray, as I couldn't be bothered to put on pants and buy proper starter trays, and is filled with the same mix as the planter boxes.

I started my seeds exactly one week ago today, I'm having a go at the following:
Lettuces
Blonde de Paris 
Lollo Rosa
Little Gem
Green Ice
Buttercrunch
Herbs
Lemon Basil
Spearmint

So far only two have sprouted, which is fine since the packets said 7-12 days.
Here's a Lolla Rosa baby!

And a Blonde de Paris baby!

Okay, but I know you've been wondering what is up with the cooler.



This is Duchess, a Carassius auratus auratus, aka Dragon Eye Goldfish. I house it (her maybe) in the cooler which holds about 14 gallons of filtered water, feed her, let her poop, and then feed the poop to my plants. Circle of life! Eventually I want to transition fully to an aquaponic system. For now I like the added security of traditional soil to act as a buffer, giving me time to correct any issues before plants start dying. Also, I didn't have the money for proper aquaponics equipment but already had soil. Goldfish are known for being tolerant of wild changes to their temperature and since I change out roughly 5% of the water daily it should be a healthy environment for her. I have plans to scale her up to a 40 gallon tank is she lives for a few years and gets a bit cramped, which is when I will transition to aquaponics.

Thanks for reading!

1 comment:

  1. Jacque is very knowlwdgeable on such matters. You might ask her for advice.

    ReplyDelete